Detonating-fuse



0. P. WATSON. DETONATING FUSE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 23. I916.

Patented July 29, 1919.

Witwaw UNITED STATES PATENT oPPIoE. 1

CHARLES P. WATSON, or PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, AssIGNoR r0 wA'rsoN ARMS ooMPANY, INC., 013' PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION oP DELAWARE.

DETo ATINe- UsE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented J uly 29, 1919.

Application filed September 23, 1916. Serial No. 121,815;

To all whom it may concern: 1

Be it known that I, CHARLES P. WATSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and, useful Improvements in Detonating-Fuses, of which the following is a specification. Y

My invention relates to percussion fuses for ordnance shells and consists of the imrovements illustratedin the drawings and which I will describe, by which the fuse is rendered safe under ordinary conditions of handling, positive in its operations when the shell carrying it is fired from a gun, and which fuse is exceedingly simple in construction and consists of but few parts.

In the accompanying drawings I preferred embodiment of my invention.

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the fuse, the parts being in unarmed or safety 'positions.

Fig. 2 is a similar view senting the fuse armed. V

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view on the line IIL-III of Fig. 1. V

.Referring to the drawings, 2 indicates the body of the fuse, which is preferably a steel plug adapted to be screwed Into the breech of a shell. It is centrally bored so as to form a relatively large powder chamber 3 at its inner end, and a communicating chamber 4 of smaller diameter toward the rear, in which is located a'plunger 10 carrying the firing pin 5. A partit1on6 separates the chambers 3 and 4, being united to the 2 by screw threads. The partition is perforated at 8, and a percussion cap 7 1Sm0l1nl': ed at the outer end of this passage. In order to cause a quick ignition 'of-the powder charge within the chamber 3' I prefer to make the passage 8 of conical shape, its smaller end being toward the chamber 3, and the cap being seated in the larger end, and to fill the passage with a charge 9 of fine black powder. This powder charge upon being ignited causes a pencil of flame to be projected into the powder mass inthe chamber show the plug 3 into which it bores for a considerable dis tance, fOIIIllIlg a relatively large area of ig nition that is carried well into the center of the mass... I have found'that by contracting the passage 8 toward the chamber 3 the pen cil of flameproduced by the burning of the powder'charge in the passage is. projected Y wlth unusual force and intensity, andwitli the result that the priming charge'in the chamber 3 is more quickly ignited than whenthe bore through the partition is cylindri cal. The firing pin-is longitudinally movable to a limited extent within the plunger. It is formed with a head 1'-1, and its stem occupies a longitudinalaperture in the plunger located oppositethecap'i'. When the firing pin is retracted or drawn backinto the plunger, which is its safety position in dicated in Fig. 1, the end of the firing pin is insidethe face of the plunger and hence cannot ,come'into engagement with the cap while r when it is moved forward into thearmed to Fig. 1,repre-- position indicated in Fig. 2, it projects a proper distance beyond the inner face of the plunger to effectively engage with the cap whenthe plunger moves forward. In order to automatically control the movements of the firing pin I mount, withina transverse recess 13 formed ,in the plunger, a cam 14 that is supported upon a pivot 15 on which it is freeto oscillate. The cam is ofirregularshape and formed with a shoulder 16, a seat or depressionl'i', against which the head of the firing pin rests when the fuse isv injunarmed position, and with a finger; 18 thatis adaptedto lie in front of the head of the firing pin and between it-and theend of the plunger, thus positively holding the pin in safety position-when the cam occupies its normal position represented in Fig. 1.

ing bolt 19 that is adapted tolie partly in a shallow recess 20 formed ;in the .inner end of the plungerand in a deeper recess .21 in the cam piece 15. 'A spring 22 located in the recess 21 behind the locking bolt 19 holds the;

The cam is held in this latter position by a lock-,

or eh annel formed in the fuse body when the cam is moved from the position shown 1n Fig. l to that represented in Fig. 2, and to abut against a shoulder 25. when the parts come to the position shown in Fig. 2, thereby arresting further movement of the cam and thus serving to maintain the parts of the fuse in proper armed position.

armed and is safe to handle. The cam piece,

by its finger 18, positively holds the firing pin retracted, and the locking bolt positively holds the cam piece in the position indicated in Fig. l;- and this piece can only become unlocked by the conjoint operation of forces thatact only when the shell carrying the fuse is fired from a gun. When such firing takes place the plunger sets back violently Within the chamber 4 and the locking bolt 19 sets back, compressing the spring 22 andfreeing" the plunger. The firing pin also tends to set back, but is held in position by theengagement of its head with the seat 17 of the cam piece. The disposition of the mass of the cam piece is'such, the greater amount being to the left of the axis of the'pivot 15 when the parts are as they appear in 'Fig. 1, that the setting back tendency, due to the acceleration in the speed of the shell,'causes the cam piece to positively'maintain the position shown in Fig. 1, 'thus 'lo'cking the fir ing pin in safety position. force due to the rotation of the shell caused by the rifiing of the gun now acts upon the V cam piece and causes it, after passing the line of balance in front of the muzzle of the gun where centrifugal force and set back due to acceleration are equal or just balance each other," to turn upon its pivot to the position indicated'in Fig. 2. The turning of the cam piece first releases the firing pin' by withdrawing the fingerffr'om in "front of its head, and then positively forces the pin into armed position by "the engagement of the shoulder "16 with the head of the pin. The e am piece finally comes to rest with the high point of tihe'shoulder back of the firing pin, and this part of the cam maybe formed into a fiat face 23 to constitute a firm seat against which the pin rests when armed. Upon the shell striking the plunger sets forward and carries the pin into engagement with the cap 7 which is thereby fired. A

What I claim is 1. The combination in a percussion fuse,

Centrifugal of a body supporting a firing pin longitudinally movable relative to the said body, and pivotally supported means movable when acted upon by centrifugal force and arranged to act on the firing pin. and cause it to be moved longitudinally into armed position when the said means move due to centrifugal force.

2. The combination, in a percussion fuse, of a body supporting a firing pin longitudinally movable relative to the said body, means pivotally supported in the said body and movable when acted upon by centrifugal force, arranged to act on the firing pin and cause it to be moved longitudinally into armed position when the said means move due to centrifugal force, and means for looking the' said pivoted, centrifugally operated, means against movement upon its pivot arranged to be operated to free the said means when the shell carrying the fuse is being accelerated in flight due to being fired from a gun.

3. The combination, in a percussion fuse, of a body supporting a firing pin longitudinally movable relative to the said body, pivotally supported means movable when acted upon by centrifugal force and arranged to. cause the firing pin to be moved longitudinally into armed position when the said means move due to centrifugal force, and means for locking the firing pin in safety position carried by the said pivotally supported. means and arranged to free the firingpin when the shellcarrying the fuse is fired from a gun.

4. The combination, in a percussion fuse, of a plunger, a firing pin mounted inthe plunger and longitudinally movable relative thereto, and a cam' pivotally supported in the plunger arranged'to be moved on its pivot by centrifugal force when the shell carrying the fuse is in rotation, and to act on the firing pin and move it into armed position.

5. The combination, in a' percussion fuse, of a plunger, a firing pin mounted in the plunger and movable relative thereto, a cam pivotally supported in the plunger arranged to be moved on its pivot by centrifugal force a seat againstwhich the firing pin rests when in safety position, a shoulder for actpin and move it into armed position, and a ing on the firing pin and moving it into locking bolt for holding the cam in safety armed position, and a locking finger for positionarranged to be moved to free the 10 holding the pin in safety position, the cam cam When the shell carrying the fuse is fired being arranged When free to turn on its from a gun.

pivot under the action of centrifugal force and cause its shoulder to act on the firing CHARLES P. WATSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

